Led by head coach Dick Tomey in his third season, the Wildcats played to an 8–4 record (5–3 in Pac-10) and participated in the first Copper Bowl which, ironically, was held at their home stadium.
The Wildcats (ranked 20th) visited Texas Tech for their first road game of the season after winning against Stanford to start the year.
The Red Raiders were fired up in front of their home crowd and outplayed Arizona with a rushing attack for the upset victory.
[7] Arizona traveled to Berkeley to visit California and paid their respects in the wake of the earthquake disaster that rocked the Bay Area and the nation three weeks prior.
Arizona was no match for the Trojans’ big talent and only managed one field goal against them in a loss and Tomey was outcoached by Smith yet again.
[10] USC clinched the Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth with the win and prevented Arizona from getting a perfect home record.
[16] In 2021, ASU would bring back the gold jerseys in a home win over Colorado and would completely wear all-gold against USC later that year.
[19] In front of a raucous crowd that mostly Arizona fans, the Wildcats narrowly got past the Wolfpack in a low-scoring affair.